Apparatus for cleaning art brushes



Feb. .12, 1963 L. w. ZIMMERMAN ,0

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING ART BRUSHES Filed Aug. 10. 1961 i i INVENTOR. 3 Leo W. 2| MMERMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent M APPARATUS FOR CLEANING ART BRUSHES Leo W. Zimmerman, 428 W. Urmsby Ave, Louisville, Ky.

Filed Aug. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 130,657 6 Claims. (Cl. 15-4154) This invention relates to cleaning devices and more especially to an apparatus suitable for the use in the removal of paints and pigments from art brushes.

In the production of artistic creations it is necessary to employ various types of art brushes, each equipped with bristles adapted for a particular use. Moreover, the maintenance of these brushes in good condition is highly essential to their proper performance. Accordingly, during usage of the brushes the bristles must be cleaned frequently to prevent accumulation of hardened pigment thereon and to remove other substances which might discolor the art work.

Heretofore, various methods and devices have been employed to cleanse art brushes such as, for example by agitating or rubbing the bristles over a flat perforated plate or fine screen submerged in a liquid brush cleaning compound,. Such prior devices have proven unsatisfactory for the reason, among others, that a large proportion of the bristles buckle when pressed endwise against the flat surface areas and are prevented from spreading apart in the perforations provided in the screen or plate. As a result, there is a serious lack of uniformity in the amount of agitation imparted to the bristles and in most cases the bristles are entangled and damaged.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a brush cleaning tank of the class described which is equipped with a brush contact unit having its upper surface formed entirely from convex ridges and intervening slots whereby the bristles engaging this surface will be divided into a plurality of layers and guided into respective intervening slots. Preferably the convex ridges are formed from a round wire or wires of a relatively large diameter; however, other cross-sectional shapes may be employed with good results since inclined cam surfaces would also be effective as a dividing and guiding means for the bristles.

It is another object of this invention to provide novel means for resiliently supporting the brush contact unit in spaced relation to the bottom of the tank.

Other objects of the invention include the provision of a brush contact unit insertable within a container and having its brush-engaging surface formed from a flat spirally coiled wire; to provide a resilient or cushioning support for said unit from a second spiralled wire coiled about an axis normal to the plane of the flat spiral and from an extension of one end of the flat spiral; to provide from an extension of the other end of the fiat spiral, a stop for limiting the downward movement of the contact unit relative to the container bottom; and to provide a hardened spring wire as a means for spacing each turn of the flat spiral and of the supporting spiral whereby the natural tension will prevent excessive displacement.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of my improved apparatus for cleaning art brushes, with certain portions of the exterior housing therefor broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional detail view through the lower portion of the apparatus in FIGURE 1, but showing the brush contact unit and its support in elevation;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along dfilhfih i Patented Feb. 12, 1983 line 3-3 in FIGURE 1, showing the tank or container partially filled with cleaning fluid and with an art brush resting upon the contact unit, and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional detail view showing the means for attaching the cover to the container.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes a tank or jar having a cover 11 threadably secured thereon as at 12, said cover being provided with a suitable liner 11a which serves as a seal or gasket (FIG. 4).

Disposed within tank 10 is a specially designed brush cleaning unit 14 formed from a plurality of turns 15 of round wire which are spirally coiled in a plane spaced substantially parallel to the tank bottom. Each turn 15 of the spiralled wire is preferably spaced equidistantly from adjacent turn or turns so that intervening slot or slots 16 will be provided of constant width. The upper or contact surface of each turn 15 is convex as well as the proximate walls of each intervening slot 16, thereby eliminating all horizontal fiat areas from the contact surface. Thus when the lower end of a brush 17 is pressed downwardly upon the contact unit 14 as shown in FIG- URE 3, the cam or convex surfaces formed on the spiralled turns will separate bristles 17a into a plurality of layers and then guide these layers respectively into the intervening slots. Upon still further downward movement of the bristles, a continued separation will occur longitudinally of the slots.

The Wire from which contact unit is formed has an etched periphery 15a, said wire being made of hardened aluminum or of other suitable hardened metal.

The outermost turn 15 of the fiat spiral unit 14 has an extension 19 which is spirally coiled about a vertical axis which substantially coincides with the vertical axes of the tank 10 and of the flat spiral. Coil 19 is preferably located below the outermost spiralled turn 15 and has its lower portion resting upon the tank bottom. In order to limit the downward movement of unit 14 relative to the bottom, the end of the innermost turn '15 of the flat spiral 14 has a vertically extending portion or stop 21 integral therewith, said stop being located substantially concentrically about the vertical axes of container 10, flat spiral 14 and supporting coil 19.

The brush cleaning tank functions in the following manner: The brush 17 with oil color in its bristles 17a is introduced into tank lit for cleaning. In the tank there is a quantity of solvent, thinner or other suitable liquid cleaning compound 22. The bristles 17a are then rubbed back and forth across the etched convex ridges which are formed upon each spiralled turn 15 of unit 14. Upon application of downward pressure with the brush, the convex or cam surfaces will initially separate the bristles 17a into several layers and then guide these layers into the intervening slots 16.

The paint sludge 23 will be removed by the abovedescribed agitation and permitted to settle to the bottom of the tank. The stop 21 is of the proper length to prevent the contact member 14 from being depressed low enough to permit either the spiralled turns 15 or the bristles 17a from contacting the sludge.

It should be noted that variable degrees of resiliency are provided in the present apparatus, depending upon the distance from the center of the fiat spiral 14 at which the brush makes contact. More specifically, the supporting coil 13? provides a source of resiliency which is equally effective and constant for brush pressure applied to any point on the top surface of the flat spiral. This constant resiliency is supplemented by a variable resiliency which is made possible by the cantilevering of the outer end of the flat spiral 14 from the upper end of the supporting coil 19. Thus, the inherent resiliency at various points as along the cantilevered flat spiral 14 will progressively increase with the spiralled distance between the respective points and the point on coil 19 where the cantilevered spiralled wire is supported.

In the drawings and specification a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic sense and not intended for the purpose of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for cleaning artists brushes and the like comprising a vertically disposed container having an Opening at the upper portion thereof, a grid arranged in spaced relation to the bottom and side walls of said container, said grid including a plurality of turns of substantially spirally pitched round spring wire lying in a substantially horizontal plane, means for resiliently supporting said grid in cantilevered position upon said bottom, said last-named means including an extension of one end of said spring Wire, said extension being substantially helically pitched about a vertical axis, and means normally spaced from said bottom and including an extension of the other end of said spring wire for limiting the downward movement of the grid relative to said bottom.

2. Apparatus for cleaning artists brushes and the like comprising a vertically disposed container having an opening at the upper portion thereof, a grid arranged in spaced relation to the bottom and side Walls of said container, said grid including a plurality of turns of substantially spirally pitched round spring wire lying in a substantially horizontal plane, and means for resiliently supporting said grid in cantilevered position upon said bottom, said last-named means including an extension of one end of said spring Wire, said extension being substantially helically pitched about a vertical axis.

3. Apparatus for cleaning artists brushes and the like comprising a vertically disposed container having an opening at the upper portion thereof, a grid arranged in spaced relation to the bottom and side walls of said cona tainer, said grid including a plurality of turns of substantially spirally pitched round spring wire lying in a substantially horizontal plane, means including one end of said wire for resiliently supporting said grid in cantilevered position upon said bottom, and means including an extension of the end of said spring Wire for limiting the downward movement of the grid relative to said bottom, said other end being normally spaced from said bottom.

4. Apparatus for cleaning artists brushes and the like comprising a vertically disposed cylindrical container having an opening at the upper portion thereof, a plurality of turns of substantially spirally pitched round spring wire lying substantially in a horizontal plane spaced parallel to the bottom of the containerto thereby form a grid, the outermost turn of said wire being disposed adjacent the interior side wall of said container, and means for resiliently supporting said grid in cantilevered position upon said container bottom, said supporting means including an extension of said outermost wire turn, said extension being substantially helically pitched about a vertical axis.

5. Brush cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 4 and further comprising means including a vertically extending portion of the inermost turn of said wire for limiting the downward movement of said grid relative to said bottom, said vertically extending portion being normally spaced from said bottom.

6. Brush cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein the respective vertical axes of said cylindrical container, said helically pitched supporting means and said vertically extending wire portion substantially coincide one with the other.

"References Cited in the file-of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,789,297 Barr April 23, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 412,921 Great Britain July 2, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE n: GRECTION Patent N00 3 O76 994 February 12 1963 Leo We Zimmerman ears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified that error app ould read as ent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent sh corrected below.

Column i line 6, before "end" insert other Signed and sealed this 21st day of May 1963a (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LAIDD Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

1. APPARATUS FOR CLEANING ARTISTS'' BRUSHES AND THE LIKE COMPRISING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED CONTAINER HAVING AN OPENING AT THE UPPER PORTION THEREOF, A GRID ARRANGED IN SPACED RELATION TO THE BOTTOM AND SIDE WALLS OF SAID CONTAINER, SAID GRID INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF TURNS OF SUBSTANTIALLY SPIRALLY PITCHED ROUND SPRING WIRE LYING IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE, MEANS FOR RESILIENTLY SUPPORTING SAID GRID IN CANTILEVERED POSITION UPON SAID BOTTOM, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS INCLUDING AN EXTENSION OF ONE END OF SAID SPRING WIRE, SAID EXTENSION BEING SUBSTANTIALLY HELICALLY PITCHED ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS, AND MEANS NORMALLY SPACED FROM SAID BOTTOM AND INCLUDING AN EXTENSION OF THE OTHER END OF SAID SPRING WIRE FOR LIMITING THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE GRID RELATIVE TO SAID BOTTOM. 